No. 45 Squadron IAF

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No. 45 Squadron
No.45 squadron patch.jpg
No.45 squadron patch
Active
  • 20 November 1959 – December 2002
  • 1 July 2016 – present
Country Flag of India.svg Republic of India
BranchAir Force Ensign of India (2023).svg  Indian Air Force
Role Air superiority
Precision Strike
Combat air patrol
Garrison/HQ Sulur AFS, Tamil Nadu [1]
Nickname(s)Flying Daggers
Motto(s)Ajithakshay
Invincible in the sky
Engagements Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
Atlantique shootdown
Decorations
Commanders
Current
commander		Group Captain Surendran M [3]
Aircraft flown
Attack HAL Tejas

No. 45 Squadron Indian Air Force (Flying Daggers) is a Fighter Squadron internally based at Sulur AFS, Tamil Nadu. [1] The squadron operates the indigenous HAL Tejas fighter from 1 July 2016. [4] The squadron was initially based at Bangalore, Karnataka and later shifted to its main base in Sulur from 1 June 2018. [1]

Contents

History

The squadron was raised on 15 February 1957, [5] with de Havilland Vampires, as a Ground-Attack and Close Air Support unit. Later The Vampires were replaced by MiG-21Bison. The MiGs which were operated from Naliya were withdrawn from squadron service in 2002. It is the first operational squadron of the indigenous fighter jet HAL Tejas. [4] The squadron operated from HAL Airport, [6] Bangalore for nearly two years before it moved to its designated locations at Sulur near Coimbatore. [7] It is also the first fighter squadron to be part of the Southern Air Command of IAF headquarters at Thiruvananthapuram. Group Captain Madhav Rangachari is the first commanding officer.

Indo-Pakistan War of 1965

Wreckage of one of the No. 45 Squadron Vampires which were shot down by PAF F-86 Sabres. Indian Air Force vampire wreckage.jpg
Wreckage of one of the No. 45 Squadron Vampires which were shot down by PAF F-86 Sabres.

On 1 September 1965, during the Indo-Pakistani War, No. 45 Squadron IAF responded to a request for strikes against a counter-attack by the Pakistan Army (Operation Grand Slam), and twelve Vampire Mk 52 fighter-bombers were successful in slowing the Pakistani advance. However, the Vampires encountered two PAF F-86 Sabres, in the ensuing dogfight, the outdated Vampires were outclassed. One was shot down by ground fire and another three were shot down by Sabres. [8] [9] The Vampires were withdrawn from front line service after these losses.

Atlantique incident

Indian Air Force No.45 Squadron was involved in the Atlantique incident on 10 August 1999. Two MiG-21 Bison from No.45 Squadron IAF equipped with R-60 missiles intercepted and following warnings issued and hostile action shot down a Pakistan Navy reconnaissance plane. [10] [11]

Assignments

Aircraft

Aircraft types operated by the squadron [12]

Aircraft TypeFromToAir Base
de Havilland Vampire 20 November 1959February 1965 AFS Palam [13]
Mig-21 FL February 1966July 1973 AFS Chandigarh [13]
July 1973May 1978 AFS Bareilly [13]
May 1978April 1982 AFS Jamnagar [13]
Mig-21 bis April 1982December 2002 AFS Naliya [14]
HAL Tejas MK.1 1 July 201630 June 2018 Bangalore
1 July 2018Present AFS Sulur [15] [16]

The squadron has 16 Tejas aircraft in currently in service. [15]

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Tejas exits Bengaluru, new nest in TN's Sulur". 1 June 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  2. ↑ "2 IAF fighter squadrons, 2 static units get President's Standards & Colours". Indian Express. 8 March 2024.
  3. ↑ "LCA Tejas very capable aircraft with world-class missiles: IAF official". Business Standard. 23 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  4. 1 2 "HAL Tejas supersonic fighter jets inducted into Indian Air Force". The Times of India. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  5. ↑ "History of IAF". IAF. Archived from the original on 9 April 2009. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  6. ↑ Kumar, Chethan (18 May 2018). "Tamil Nadu to build India's next generation defence aircraft". The Economic Times.
  7. ↑ "IAF begins establishing first LCA squadron." Deccan Herald. Retrieved 1 July 2016. Archived 20 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ Pakistani Air-to-Air Victories, Air Combat Information Group, 2003, archived from the original on 21 December 2012, retrieved 10 June 2009.
  9. ↑ (Retd), Air Marshal Trilochan Singh PVSM AVSM VrC VM. "Tank Busting In The Chamb - Bharat Rakshak:Indian Air Force". bharat-rakshak.com.
  10. ↑ "The Atlantique Incident". 1999 Kargil Operations. Bharat Rakshak Indian Air Force. Archived from the original on 2 February 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2007.
  11. ↑ IAF Scores a Kill !!! Factual Account of Interception Archived 22 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine – Indian Air Force official page Retrieved on 26 July 2007
  12. ↑ "No.45 Squadron - Bharat Rakshak:Indian Air Force". bharat-rakshak.com. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "'Flying Daggers' Fly Again". Vayu Aerospace. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  14. ↑ "No.45 Squadron Flying Daggers". Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  15. 1 2 "Breaking news: IAF getting ready to induct more Tejas LCA, 83 Mark 1A fighters in the pipeline | India News | Zee News". zeenews-india-com.cdn.ampproject.org. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  16. ↑ "Tejas commences ops from Air Force station in Sulur". Deccan Herald. 3 July 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
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